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From Michael, Indianapolis, IN:

I read in a late Dec. issue of the Charlotte Observer that the United States is possibly using torture in the interrogation of detainees in Cuba. The same article said that the U.S. would not rule out the use of torture in its fight against terrorism. What do you know about the use of torture by the US and policies regarding torture in the war on terrorism?

Amnesty International USA's Executive Director Dr. William F. Schulz responds.

Amnesty International condemns torture unequivocally under all circumstances. We have been alarmed at recent reports that the US is engaging in this practice and, though we have not been able to confirm these reports directly because we have no access to the facilities in question, we have expressed our concern forcefully to US officials, including President Bush.

The laws that prohibit the use of torture are unchanged by the war on terror. Fundamental to the very idea of human rights is that they are universal, rights for all that are not to be abridged or waived, not in war or during any other crisis.